Economic Aid

TOMS Shoes may be the quintessential Millennial company. Granted, it's not a Silicon Valley app maker, but it hits all the other Generation Y sweet spots: Hip, young CEO? Check. Participatory, social media-driven marketing? Check. Trendy, eco-friendly products? Check and check. A conspicuous focus on social responsibility? Big check. It's the latter point that has driven the company's success. TOMS Shoes' social element isn't just window dressing, it's the heart...

The term “bankster” has an interesting history. A combination of “banker” and “gangster,” it was first popularized in the throes of the Great Depression, when a tenacious, cigar-chomping prosecutor led tumultuous Senate hearings on the causes of the 1929 crash. The hearings became something of a media circus, as some of the richest bankers in America were raked over the coals for their role in the stock market collapse. At...

What do you think about foreign development aid? Are we sending too much or too little to lesser-developed countries? How about microcredit? Do you side with the defenders or the critics of this controversial approach to fighting poverty? If, like me, you follow global development issues, you probably have an opinion on both topics, which have become perennial (more…)